Macbeth - by Jimmy Nealon
Macbeth, a Scottish general who murdered his king, was a man driven by ambition and then emboldened by the promises of witchcraft. We first hear an account from the Captain of Macbeth’s great victory on the battlefield, where he had defeated Scottish rebels. When Macbeth is in battle, he is in his element. From this second scene of Act I our first impression of Macbeth is that he is a ruthless warrior who is invaluable to Scotland. Shortly after the battle, though, he encountered three witches who craftily revealed to him that he would become the King of Scotland. Macbeth was a general whose potential for greatness was unlimited, and King Duncan felt that he was very lucky to have someone with such great military prowess fighting for him. However, we observe a change in Macbeth from sanity to a crazy hope that he might be King one day when he visited the witches.
Macbeth was initially against murdering the king because hefelt that as a royal subject, his job was to protect and serve the king. In addition to this loyalty, Macbeth saw no flaws in King Duncan’s reign because Duncan was an excellent ruler who cared about his kingdom. Therefore, Macbeth sawno legitimate reason to kill Duncan, except for his own personal gain.
The witches spoke in nouns. They proclaimed that “Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor and King Hereafter.”, but they did not ever mention what he must do to get there. Macbeth was satisfied as a general, but they supplied him with the real possibility of becoming the King. The witches may have inspired Macbeth to murder Duncan, but it was Lady Macbeth, his wife, who truly coerced him to go through with the plan. Being easily manipulated was probably Macbeth’s most tragic characteristic. Multiple times in the play we see the witches and Lady Macbeth manipulate him. In Act I Lady Macbeth compared Macbeth to a “poor cat” that wanted fish but would not get his feet wet. Similarly, Macbeth wanted the throne but he did not want to murder Duncan. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth also questioned Macbeth if he was a coward. “Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valor as thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would,” like the poor cat i’ th’ adage?” (I 7 41) This manipulation caused Macbeth to crumble under the pressure and go against his will by killing King Duncan.
When Macbeth did kill Duncan, he was overcome with grief and regret that he committed such an awful act. Macbeth was not prepared for the psychological harm that came with murdering a human being. “How is’t with me when every noise appalls me? What hands are here! Ha, they pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” (II 2 59) This remorse is the beginning of Macbeth’s descent into madness. However, this remorse turned to paranoia because Macbeth was afraid that his subjects would try to plot against him and his throne. Thus, he entered a state of action and he started to kill anyone whom he thought was a threat to his throne. Macbeth murdered his friend Banquo, and this was the first instance when the nobles started to think of Macbeth as a tyrant. Macbeth additionally murdered the noble Macduff’s entire family even though Macduff’s wife and children posed absolutely no threat to Macbeth.
Macbeth’s paranoia evolved into a state of strong emboldening when he visited the Weird Sisters for a second time. He visited them because he wanted reassurance that he would not be harmed as the King. The witches conjured up three apparitions that told Macbeth that he should beware Macduff, he should not worry about those of woman born, and that he will never be vanquished until Great Birnam Wood rises to Dunsinane Hill against him. Macbeth wrongly interpreted these messages and he entered into a false state of security and emboldening. Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft proclaimed, “And you all know, security is mortals’ chiefest enemy.” (III 5 113). Macbeth’s newfound security caused him to let his guard down against his enemies, especially Macduff, which was probably the most tragic thing of all because Macduff ended up slaying Macbeth in battle in the last scene.
From hesitation to regret to paranoia to emboldening, Macbeth followed an ultimately tragic path ending with his death on the battlefield and a reign left to be scorned upon by Scots for many centuries. His flaw of being easily manipulated and his false sense of security eventually led to his untimely death. When we saw Macbeth, we at first admired his brilliance on the battlefield but our sympathy was soon swayed to hatred and dismay when he killed Duncan and then Banquo and Macduff’s family. To summarize, Macbeth is a tragic hero whose potential for greatness was overwhelmed by his murder of Duncan and its psychological aftermath.
Macbeth was initially against murdering the king because hefelt that as a royal subject, his job was to protect and serve the king. In addition to this loyalty, Macbeth saw no flaws in King Duncan’s reign because Duncan was an excellent ruler who cared about his kingdom. Therefore, Macbeth sawno legitimate reason to kill Duncan, except for his own personal gain.
The witches spoke in nouns. They proclaimed that “Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor and King Hereafter.”, but they did not ever mention what he must do to get there. Macbeth was satisfied as a general, but they supplied him with the real possibility of becoming the King. The witches may have inspired Macbeth to murder Duncan, but it was Lady Macbeth, his wife, who truly coerced him to go through with the plan. Being easily manipulated was probably Macbeth’s most tragic characteristic. Multiple times in the play we see the witches and Lady Macbeth manipulate him. In Act I Lady Macbeth compared Macbeth to a “poor cat” that wanted fish but would not get his feet wet. Similarly, Macbeth wanted the throne but he did not want to murder Duncan. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth also questioned Macbeth if he was a coward. “Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valor as thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would,” like the poor cat i’ th’ adage?” (I 7 41) This manipulation caused Macbeth to crumble under the pressure and go against his will by killing King Duncan.
When Macbeth did kill Duncan, he was overcome with grief and regret that he committed such an awful act. Macbeth was not prepared for the psychological harm that came with murdering a human being. “How is’t with me when every noise appalls me? What hands are here! Ha, they pluck out mine eyes. Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” (II 2 59) This remorse is the beginning of Macbeth’s descent into madness. However, this remorse turned to paranoia because Macbeth was afraid that his subjects would try to plot against him and his throne. Thus, he entered a state of action and he started to kill anyone whom he thought was a threat to his throne. Macbeth murdered his friend Banquo, and this was the first instance when the nobles started to think of Macbeth as a tyrant. Macbeth additionally murdered the noble Macduff’s entire family even though Macduff’s wife and children posed absolutely no threat to Macbeth.
Macbeth’s paranoia evolved into a state of strong emboldening when he visited the Weird Sisters for a second time. He visited them because he wanted reassurance that he would not be harmed as the King. The witches conjured up three apparitions that told Macbeth that he should beware Macduff, he should not worry about those of woman born, and that he will never be vanquished until Great Birnam Wood rises to Dunsinane Hill against him. Macbeth wrongly interpreted these messages and he entered into a false state of security and emboldening. Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft proclaimed, “And you all know, security is mortals’ chiefest enemy.” (III 5 113). Macbeth’s newfound security caused him to let his guard down against his enemies, especially Macduff, which was probably the most tragic thing of all because Macduff ended up slaying Macbeth in battle in the last scene.
From hesitation to regret to paranoia to emboldening, Macbeth followed an ultimately tragic path ending with his death on the battlefield and a reign left to be scorned upon by Scots for many centuries. His flaw of being easily manipulated and his false sense of security eventually led to his untimely death. When we saw Macbeth, we at first admired his brilliance on the battlefield but our sympathy was soon swayed to hatred and dismay when he killed Duncan and then Banquo and Macduff’s family. To summarize, Macbeth is a tragic hero whose potential for greatness was overwhelmed by his murder of Duncan and its psychological aftermath.
